Devices and methods for performance- and health-monitoring of many types of systems are known. Such devices usually monitor a system by collecting data during the operation of the system and reporting the data to an operator of the system. Some devices evaluate such operational data to detect trends in the performance of the system and/or monitor “vital signs” of the system while the systems are operating, and report any abnormal conditions or trends to the operator.
The execution of periodic and preventative maintenance procedures is crucial to the proper operation of aircraft systems and to the long term health of such systems. The incorrect execution, or omission, of such procedures may cause premature wear and lead to system failures, particularly where, for example, such systems sit idle for relatively long periods of time. Conventional health monitoring systems and methods may detect the consequences of inadequate maintenance only by monitoring degradation or failure in system performance. Since inadequate maintenance may not have an immediate, noticeable effect on the performance or vital signs of the system, and since regular or protracted idle periods may not be monitored, or may otherwise go undetected, the effects of inadequate maintenance on a system may only be detected long after the fact. Hence, by the time any sign can be detected, inadequate maintenance of a system may have already led to costly consequences.
Improvement in detection of inadequate maintenance, and including for example periodic maintenance, is therefore desirable.